Category: MUSIC

The new RDH Great Stories Beatles Memories and Memorabilia exhibit at the Avon-Washington Township Public Library, 498 Avon Ave., Avon, Ind., is now open and will be on display throughout August. The theme is “The Continuing Magic of the Beatles.”

On Sept. 13 in that library, Ronald Hawkins will give his next Beatles’ presentation. This one will be on the continuing magic theme and will begin at 5:30 p.m..

The event will include videos, live music, a discussion of items Hawkins’ collection, and a trivia contest with prizes. The live music will be provided by Martinsville High School student Tyler Russell.

During Friday’s Abbey Road on the River in Jeffersonville, Ind., the great Canadian-based All You Need is Love performed a powerful version of John Lennon’s R-rated (for language) “Working Class Hero.” Video by Ronald Hawkins of RDH Great Stories.

E Street Band member Jake Clemons entertained the first night at Abbey Road on the River 2017 with his own show. Mark Rashotte, lead guitarist for All You Need is Love joined the jam with Clemons’ band. Video by Ronald Hawkins of RDH Great Stories.

Longtime Abbey Road on the River favorites Hal Bruce and Jay Goeppner entertained Friday, June 26, with a variety of John Lennon tunes during their acoustic set. Among them was the early Lennon song “If I Fell.” Video by Ronald Hawkins.

Jake Clemons, nephew of the late Clarence Clemons and a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, heading onstage during the first night of Abbey Road on the River 2017 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. All photos by Ronald Hawkins.

Guitarist Mark Rashotte of All You Need is Love playing with Jake Clemons band.

The first of two nights of my Beatles Summer of Love at the Martinsville Public Library was great fun for yours truly and I hope for everyone who attended. Here’s a clip from a performance by Dennis Champlin and Dena Holmes. The second of two presentations will be at 6 p.m. April 25 at the library, 110 S. Jefferson St., Martinsville, Indiana..

Where does this begin, particularly with the recently released 2 Disc Special Edition Blu ray?

When the documentary was shown in the theater in Cincinnati, it was immediately followed by the complete Shea Stadium concert. The two-disc, Blu-ray set doesn’t include the concert and that’s just one of the disappointments.

Eight Days a Week

I buy any “fresh” Beatles products, continually feeding my 52-year plus addiction. The long version of the Beatles’ Anthology videos, the Beatles movies, The Beatles First Visit to the United States and the two-DVD Ed Sullivan Show set include nearly everything and more than is in this documentary and I own them all.

It’s also very disappointing to see some of the original black and white footage colorized.

I love the Beatles (see my Beatles Memories and Memorabilia Facebook page) and Ron Howard (that guy has great initials), but not this package. If you want to see a better film by Ron Howard, make sure you see “In the Heart of the Sea,” which was released in 2015.

The documentary is great for beginners, but not longtime Beatlemaniacs who’ll find this chiefly a condensed rehash. Unlike the promotional slogan for it, it is not the story we haven’t heard before.

The extra disc would have been the place for the Shea Stadium concert. Instead, we’re only allowed 15 or so minutes of live Beatles’ performances, none from the Shea Stadium show. Also, I had hoped to see more of the Candlestick Park concert, their final live concert not counting the rooftop Get Back show.

The promotion for this film also included a tie-in with a new version of the Beatles’ Live at the Hollywood with a couple of additional live tracks including one which had previously been released in the mid-1990s as a part of an Anthology EP.

The CD was another failed opportunity. If the surviving Beatles and the Apple execs had converted Live at the Hollywood Bowl into a more comprehensive live CD that included other venues this would have been something fans have been clamoring for for decades.